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Strategy November 27, 2018

Nike & PlayStation Team Up On New Paul George Sneakers

The collaboration highlights trends in the world of branded merchandise that are relevant for promotional product distributors.

By  Christopher Ruvo

Fashion, footwear, video games and one of the best basketball players on the planet are part of a new branded merchandise collaboration between Nike and PlayStation.

Set to release Dec. 1, the “Nike PG 2.5 x PlayStation” collab sees the Oregon-based athleticwear maker releasing the latest in its line of Paul George sneakers in a motif inspired by PS. Indeed, the color-matching of the original PS gaming system hues the shoes, while PlayStation symbols pepper the trainers’ counter and heel. The classic four-color PlayStation logo features on the left sneaker.

Why create star NBA player Paul George’s signature shoes in PlayStation styling? Because George is a bigtime gamer, saying he plays video games to restore himself off the court. “Before, I played video games just because it was fun,” George says. “Now I do it because that’s how I relax. I need an exit from reality sometimes, to get away, to be in a different place and different moment.”

For sure, Nike’s Paul George series reflects his love of gaming. The sockliner of the PG1 included a video game rendering of George. Meanwhile, the PG2, which debuted earlier this year, came in a colorway inspired by the PS4's DualShock4 controller.

The PG2, predecessor to the PG 2.5.

Beyond being a creative design concept brought to life with deft execution, we think the PG line spotlights significant trends for promotional products distributors. Namely, the PG 2.5 and its predecessors exemplify yet another way the fast-growing industry of gaming is expanding into branded merchandise, which means potential opportunity for promo pros. We’ve written about such things before here and also here. Plus, the PG series spotlights a massive trend in the world of branding: Collaborations between brands. The recent Ziploc collab and Starbucks partnering speak to that, too. What cool collaborations will come next? We’re excited to see.